Forget Not All His Benefits
His Benefits Include Healing
The healing of Elohim is remarkable. Healings are signs that
point to Elohim. Elohim's healing power caught my attention early in life
primarily through the miracle ministry of A. A. Allen. I worked a little
in healing ministry as a teenager. Since I have been in pastoral ministry,
I have preached on this subject, practiced healing, seen Elohim heal
miraculously on several occasions, and have been healed myself. When the
healing ministry of Yahshua (through his latter day saints) meats with
faith, then something is addressed in the spirit, and made manifest in
some way in the body, be it in the mind, soul, spirit, emotions, or in
the body.
Psalms 103:1-5 Praise Yahweh, O my soul; all my inmost
being, praise his holy name. {2} Praise Yahweh, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits-- {3} who forgives all your sins and
heals all your diseases, {4} who redeems your life from the pit and
crowns you with love and compassion, {5} who satisfies your desires
with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
- Many, many wonderful healing oil and incense concoctions at this
store at extremely reasonable prices. I always suggest Jojoba
Oil (which is the crown of thorns oil) as a base since it never goes
bad. (Olive oil has a shelf life of 3 months. How much
rancid oil has gone on your forehead from behind the pulpit?
Rancid, unblessed oil has no potential for storing power at all.)
THE BENEFITS OF OUR MASTER'S FAVOR
EXTEND AS FAR AS DOES OUR BELIEF
The Bible assures us of the many benefits that originate from
our conversion, or new birth: forgiveness, justification, sanctification,
salvation, deliverance, healing, and empowerment, to name a few.
Due to the great influence of Southern Baptist-style Believerity, only
one aspect of conversion is emphasized -- our salvation from
the wrath of Elohim to come. It is the notion that to be saved means that,
when our bodies die our spirits 'go to heaven.'
Our whole way of speaking has changed. Rather than calling ourselves
"those born from above" or "new creatures in Messiah"
or "children of Elohim" we call ourselves "saved." And we
make distinctions on the basis of whether a person claims to be saved or
not.
The problem with this way of looking at our faith is that it focuses in
on only one aspect of our life in Messiah, the mystery of eternity, to the
neglect of the other benefits which are more important for the NOW.
The psalmist sings emphatically to his very being, "O my soul, Praise
Yahweh! Don't forget all his benefits!" We fail to take
advantage of all his benefits, often relegating them to oblivion, or
believing they are not for today, or that they are not for us for
today.
Yet there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that all the
benefits of our relationship with Messiah did or will pass away.
Indeed, if we seek we find that some believers have appropriated the
benefits we have neglected. For when we come to Yahshua Messiah,
1. If we have faith for forgiveness, we may be forgiven.
2. If we have faith for salvation, we may be saved.
3. If we have faith for justification, we may be justified.
4. If we have faith for sanctification, we may be sanctified.
5. If we have faith for deliverance, we may be delivered.
6. If we have faith for healing, we may be healed.
7. If we have faith for empowerment, we may be empowered.
What
blessings we are in direct relationship to what we will claim and believe
for in our conversion. In this way, the welfare system of the Kingdom is
rather like the American welfare system. Benefits will not accrue to your
account until they are formally claimed.
In fact, the blessings of forgiveness and healing are those the
Bible most explicitly promises: Yahweh
1. forgives all your sins and
2. heals all your diseases, going much further with
3. redemption from death (the pit),
4. a "crowning" of his love and compassion,
5. satisfaction with good things and
6. the renewal of youth.
Holistic healing of body, mind, soul, emotions and spirit is the
promise of Elohim to those who have faith for such things through Yahshua
Messiah.
You have all your faculties, including faith. Now if you have faith for
forgiveness, why shouldn't you also have faith for healing? Forgiveness
for your sinful nature and sinful ministration is a much greater miracle
than your total healing. Perhaps the problem is that the evidence
of Elohim's grace is not so public in the former than the latter. The
evidence for the forgiveness of sin can be easily counterfeited; the
evidence for total healing cannot.
A SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLE
Luke 5:17-26 (NIV) One day as Yahshua was teaching, Pharisees and
teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and
from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the
Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
{18} Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to
take him into the house to lay him before Yahshua. {19} When they
could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up
on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the
middle of the crowd, right in front of Yahshua.
{20} When Yahshua saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins
are forgiven." {21} The Pharisees and the teachers of the law
began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks
blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but Elohim alone?"
{22} Yahshua knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are
you thinking these things in your hearts? {23} Which is easier: to
say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? {24}
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins..." (He said to the paralyzed man) "I tell
you, get up, take your mat and go home." {25} Immediately he
stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went
home praising Elohim. {26} Everyone was amazed and gave praise to Elohim.
They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable
things today."
The paralyzed man had faith for forgiveness and for healing.
(The power for healing was present in Yahshua.) And Yahshua used his
healing to make the implicit point that forgiveness and healing were two
twin benefits of a person's salvation irrevocably bound together. It's
really easy not to believe somebody's sins are not forgiven, because
sin-sickness is inside, and the healing of it is inside, thus not
seen to the naked eye. On the other hand, the healing of a physical
ailment is so evident that who could possibly doubt Elohim after seeing a
physical healing (at least in Yahshua' day)? Indeed, when the man was
healed, 'Everyone was amazed and gave praise to Elohim. They were filled with
awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."'
PERSONAL TESTIMONIES TO HEALING
The healing of Elohim is remarkable. Healings are signs that
point to Elohim. Elohim's healing power caught my attention early in life
primarily through the miracle ministry of A. A. Allen. I worked a little
in healing ministry as a teenager. Since I have been in pastoral ministry,
I have preached on this subject, practiced healing, seen Elohim heal
miraculously on several occasions, and have been healed myself. When the
healing ministry of Yahshua (through his latter day saints) meats with
faith, then something is addressed in the spirit, and made manifest in
some way in the body, be it in the mind, soul, spirit, emotions, or in
the body. Something that had been awry is healed.
Among the healings I have witnessed, some have been instantaneous:the healings of an aneurysm on the brain, a baby's eye infection, a
student's raging ear infection, a leg badly mangledin a car
accident, kidney stones, and many kinds of pain, anxiety, fear, and
allergies. Many other healings have been gradual: my healing of
"double" heart disease - cardiac and brotherly hatred.
Some are doctor assisted, including the successful surgery of a badly
deformed child.
A few people had no healing because their illness provided them with
something they did not want to part with. One man said he could not be
healed of muscular dystrophy because, if he were whole, he'd lose all his
friends.
PRACTICAL NAZOREAN HEALING
There are a few more things to consider about the practical side of
Naz healing.
1. Yahshua was primarily known in his day as a healer. Thus healing
became one of three primary functions of the primitive Church. Our
(Methodist) called-out assembly has a rich (though not very recent) heritage of healing
ministry. John Wesley himself was a doctor. He wrote a book on practical
healing called The Primitive Physick that is still in print after
250 years.
As recently as 1984, the General Conference of the UMC passed a
resolution on healing:
As United Methodists, we are called to a ministry of health and
wholeness. Therefore, we challenge our membership to become involved
in a search for Believer understanding of health, healing, and
wholeness, and the dimensions of spiritual healing in our
congregations and seminaries.
The latest Book of Worship (1989?) also includes a couple
liturgical-style healing services. Although they do not stress physical
healing (and may not mention it in particular at all), the services are at
least low-key enough not to scare anyone away.
2. In the Wesleyan tradition, we heal through medicines, herbs,
sacraments, and by declaration in Yahshua' name. The most common means of
healing grace in the called-out assembly now is through the Lord's Supper, which has
been described as "An outward sign of inward grace." We may
using the three catalysts between what we hope for and what we yet do not
see. These are wine, oil, and bread, each blessed by Elohim properly.
Psalms 104:15 He brings forth food from the earth: wine that
gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread
that sustains his heart.
Sacraments (such as the Lord's Supper and Anointing the Sick) are meant
to be the tangible vehicles for benevolent, intangible powers.
Yahshua' has the power to heal. He may use the Seven-fold Spirit or the Rephaim
to heal, if he wants. Yahshua also work miracles of healings through
sacraments, if we will have the faith to believe in his presence to heal in
the sacrament.
(We talk about the sacramental elements of bread and wine every
month, but what of the oil? Olive oil was thought to have healing
properties in the day of Yahshua. That has been confirmed by scientific
method today. Olive oil is healthy and healing. Symbolically, the
olive is the fruit of what is known as the "Resurrection
Tree" because it cannot easily be killed. Some olive trees which
now stand in the Garden of Gethsemane were there in Yahshua' time.)
3. We "lay hands" on people needing healing in keeping with
the tradition of the earliest called-out assembly, as cited in the Gospels and
apostolic letters. Recently, medical colleges have realized the value of
"laying on hands." 80 such colleges took part in a study in
1991; it was found that immune levels rose significantly when hands were
laid upon the sick, thus promoted healing naturally. Consider how the act
of "laying hands" might be synergized through the Messianic
channel.
Warming, balancing
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and gently sweet. An exquisite perfume designed to lift the
spirits. Contains: Organic Jojobaoil, Gr ...
4. I believe that one may stand in proxy for another to receive
healing. This is implied in Acts: 19:11-12
And Elohim wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that
from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons,
and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out
of them.
5. This scripture opens up another avenue of healing which Psalms calls
"redemption"; that is, the casting out of evil spirits that attach
themselves to physical and emotional ailments. Note that those who the
demons departed from were implicitly believers.
6. We need to receive and defend our healing. The devil may steal it,
or we may lose it through a bad attitude. When you have been healed, cling
to Yahshua and defend what is yours through prayer, rebuke, and
thanksgiving.
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